It's worth noting that the photograph halfway down the page of the man using a hand drill, which appears like it may have been taken quite recently, was actually taken <i>75 years ago</i>, in <i>1942</i>:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PalmercarpenterA.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PalmercarpenterA.jpg</a>
One device not specifically mentioned by the article is my personal favorite, the "Cole Drill", named after Cole Manufacturing which seems to have originated the concept. Google for image, but its basically a portable, manual drill-press with a ratcheting mechanism. I was unaware of their existence until sometime last year, but it has become one of my favorite tools. I had always desired some kind of small drill-press for doing random wood/metal/pcb work, and the Cole Drill fits the bill perfectly. It is also unique in that the feed is advanced with a threaded sleeve which makes it possible to exert upwards of 1000 lbs. on the bit, making it ideal for drilling hard materials. I've yet to come across a standard motorized press that could do this. Yes, its slow compared to a power feed, but i can't store a Delta under the sink in my tiny ass apartment either.
Another really cool style of hand drill, which this article completely missed, is the Yankee Drill [0]. (More generically called a Push Drill.) A spade-like drill bit cuts when turned either direction. The handle has a screw mechanism and spring so that you can push the handle down into the work to turn the bit one way, and lift the handle back up to turn it the other way. The up-down motion is easy to get a hold of and very fast to do. It's <i>amazing</i> for drilling pilot holes and for putting holes in walls that are right next to furniture or cabinets - the diameter of the entire tool is only 1.25 or 1.5 inches. The handle stores a variety of bits inside.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.garrettwade.com/garrett-wade-yankee-push-drill-gp.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.garrettwade.com/garrett-wade-yankee-push-drill-g...</a>
This reminds me of a sheep shearing demonstration I saw a while ago. The shearer first cut off a third of the sheep's wool with old fashioned scissors. Then he pulled out some pre electrical device that was powered by an audience volunteer at a lever/pump. This rapidly cut through the next third of the sheep wool. The final third he took off with modern electrical shears, barely faster than the previous gadget (though, notably, only requiring a single human to do the job).<p>Sometimes you forget just how ingenious and <i>good</i> pre electrical tools could be.
It's really sad that auger bits for braces aren't manufactured any more as far as I can tell. There are places that sell new old stock, and there are Irwin bits available but only in sets worth $500 (not sure if new or old stock). You might have to pay $30 for a single bit.<p>I bought a bunch of random sized new old stock and I was lucky to obtain some untouched bits when I bought a dead man's tool chest a while back.<p>I do woodworking exclusively with hand tools and the brace and bit is just a great tool. It's much nicer than hassling with power drills or trying to wrestle the work piece on the drill press. A cordless drill can get holes drilled just fine (although there's a risk of tearout on the opposite side) but for removing waste from mortises or other joinery a cordless drill is useless because you don't have a reliable depth stop.<p>I also have an egg beater -style drill but unfortunately the chuck is broken. I won't bother buying a new one because I'll almost certainly get one when buying a set of old tools from someone in an online auction.<p>Some old hand tools are much nicer to work with than their modern counterparts. It's not usually even much slower unless you're doing some mass manufacturing operation with a thousand similar holes or sawcuts. I could never afford a full shop of power tools or the space to put them in but I'm able to do almost anything with hand tools at a fraction of the money and space required.
The hand drills have a couple of non-obvious advantages over a normal electric drill.<p>First, since they're usually slower, it's harder to really screw up and drill a blind hole too deep. As an added bonus, if you mark your depth with tape, it's a lot harder to accidentally push the tape up the bit, and subsequently drill too deep.<p>Second, I find it much easier to drill a hole perpendicular to the surface I'm drilling in because the handle is in line with the axis of the hole. I find it much harder to do that reliably with an electric drill.<p>Third, if you pull off the side handle (chef's cap), you can drill quite close to a wall (but not a corner). The handle isn't appreciably larger in diameter than the chuck, so you can drill straight in much closer (6-12mm) than you can with most electric drills.<p>Fourth, the old ones are beautifully made, and will last forever[0].<p>Those are on top of the obvious advantage that they need neither a cord nor batteries.<p>The downsides:<p>It's harder to get the bit back out; you can't just gun it and pull back like you can with an electric drill. Also, you can't crank in reverse. That usually just loosens the chuck.<p>You can't really maintain the speed you need to get a clean hole with a brad-point bit. Or maybe that just comes with practice? I haven't managed it yet.<p>The single speed ones are pretty well done for by the time you hit a 1/4"/6mm bit, especially with a smaller drill.<p>I have a Miller's Falls #5, and a Goodell-Pratt 5 1/2 [1]. The Goodell-Pratt has a low gear that really ups the capacity to drill larger diameter holes in hardwood.<p>The Miller's Falls #5 has a double pinion, which I prefer to the single pinion on the Goodell-Pratt. The gearbox on the Goodell-Pratt is also slightly fussy, but it does have a ball bearing thrust bearing.<p>[0] Can't resist, here's one of mine: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkaD6iA1BP/?taken-by=teaandsawdust" rel="nofollow">https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkaD6iA1BP/?taken-by=teaandsawd...</a>
[1] <a href="http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm" rel="nofollow">http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm</a>
I was told a story by a Canadian Forces mechanic about how he used a hand drill to do some underwater repairs on a float plane pontoon while in a remote area up North.<p>I'm not sure if hand powered tools are part of a standard repair kit for the Canadian military or if he was just being extra cautious in including some in his kit, but one can see how they could be useful when working in remote areas without power.
So, after all that hand powered stuff, here is a story about the Whole Hawg (and Unix) by Neal Stephenson:<p><a href="http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html</a>
Fiskars makes a hand drill. I bought one on the spur of the moment when I thought I'd be helping a friend's kid with a "build your own toy" project. That didn't happen, and I haven't actually tried it, yet.<p>Happy with most of their other stuff, though (trimming tools, hand saw, ...). I should have a look for it -- somewhere around here.
A video of the guy behind Primitive Technology channel on YT making a pump drill: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI</a>
If you enjoyed this, you must watch the PBS documentary about Dick Proenneke, who built an amazing cabin in the Alaskan bush using hand tools, many of which he completed on-site.<p>He was alone out there and shot the footage himself, Les Stroud-style, decades before Les made his first episode of Survivorman:<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHhsu-Vn6jZpBMVJ5Wncizf0wrCw1C0-V" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHhsu-Vn6jZpBMVJ5Wnciz...</a>
Hand drills are great for when you need to drill pilot holes to install stuff in your dorm room or cheap apartment.<p>Drilling through metal is where they really fall flat on their face. It's hard to keep a reasonable feed rate if the tool isn't in great condition or the work it not positioned conveniently.<p>Accuracy also isn't that great, especially where a lot of pressure (metal) is needed or in awkward positions and that's with a power drill. A hand drill that you have to power would be even worse.
I have recently bought a brace type hand drill and I prefer it over my cordless drill. It is great not only for drilling, I also use it to drive all types of screws since it will accept any bit the powered version would. It provides more torque than a screwdriver and is more pleasant to operate than a socket wrench.
There are some heavy-duty hand drills on Alibaba.[1] It's not a dead technology.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Double-Pinion-Two-Speeds-Cast-Iron_60239913712.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Double-Pinion-Two-Spe...</a>
I would love to see a full series of steps to boot strap from nothing through all the improving tools required to build a high quality lathe.<p>So many disciplines need to come together.
If you're interested in seeing someone make these take a look at this Primitive Technology video and the others he produces:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI</a><p>Make sure you turn on captions to see descriptions of what's going on.
Another hand-powered drilling tool not mentioned here is the pin vise, which works by means of a collar sliding up and down a spiraled shaft. They are used for drilling small, precise holes, using drill bits that would be easily broken by the greater torque of a power drill.
Ah, yes, included the Millers Falls two-handed drill we have for timber frame mortising. (Haven't done much lately.)<p>Great tool, though admittedly much slower than electric chain morticers. But certainly more meditative...